[kictanet] Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning

[alice]

(From Balancing Act)

Africa: The race to liberalise broadcast markets is just beginning

The 1990s saw the phenomenal growth of the mobile sector in Africa 
turning millions of people into the proud owners of a phone. This growth 
was made possible by opening Africa's telecoms market to new investment 
and competition, lowering prices and increasing choice. Broadcasting is 
about to go through the same cycle only twenty years later, writes 
Russell Southwood, and Africa's broadcast industry may see the same kind 
of growth.

This issue of African Broadcast, Film and Convergence sees new pay-TV 
entrant GTV going into more countries and a third entrant announcing its 
presence in the Ugandan market. Cameroon has announced four new 
broadcast licences for private operators. Togo has announced the arrival 
of a sports channel. Two new broadcast stations appear to be on the 
cards, one in the capital Abuja and the other in Kogi State. As 
elsewhere in Africa, these last two stations have been prompted by local 
politicians, anxious to have access to the means of communication to 
promote themselves. It will take a breed of tough, brave regulators to 
police issues around fairness and access.

The state broadcasting sector is largely under-funded and will find it 
difficult to keep up with the pace of this race. Africa has not often 
seen public broadcasting in the purer sense (of the kind best 
represented by the BBC) as too many broadcasters have become the captive 
of Government, for whom they rely on their funding. At its worst, 
African state broadcasting is sadly amongst the dullest viewing on the 
planet.

More private broadcasters create new talent and new voices and spread 
the power to communicate into more hands. Africa's state broadcasters 
will need to create a clear role for themselves if they are to survive 
this onslaught. Simply repeating what the Government wants will not play 
well if there are alternatives. Why watch the President opening yet 
another something when you can watch a local football match or the 
Barclays Premier League?

A staggering fifty organisations were shortlisted to operate private 
radio or TV licences in Cameroon. Only four received licences - Spectrum 
TV, Canal 2 International, Sweet FM and TV+ - but according to 
Cameroon's Minister of Communications Professor Ebénézer Njoh Mouelle:" 
Amongst the 50 audio-visual stations only 4 of them have today received 
licences to operate. It means that 46 others should also be ready to 
come forth for their licences. The delay depends on them. They need to 
follow the example of those who have received an authorization to 
operate a private audio-visual media in Cameroon". In other words, show 
you can do it and we will give you a licence.

The process has been presented as a regularisation of the existing 
market as many stations already operate without a licence. According to 
the Minister:" The licence enables those who are already operating in 
the field to be formal rather than informal. Those who received the 
licence to operate have become more opened, recognised and can freely 
negotiate financial deals with foreign operators".

The main obstacle for more clearing the requirements for a licence are 
money. The sum paid depends on whether the station is a local or a 
national one. All applicants have cleared the technical requirements 
hurdles but the remaining 46 have found difficulty thus far in finding 
the money required to pay their licence fees. A lively and healthy media 
market in broadcasting will doubtless help with the process of raising 
the money. The first four entrants have a more or less clear run at it 
and should produce clear evidence of both listener/viewer interest and 
advertising revenues.

Meanwhile in Togo, a new TV channel - Télé Sport has launched that will 
concentrate on meeting the thirst for sport among its Togolese viewers. 
It will devote 90% of its content tosport, 5% to culture and 5% to science.

It wants to provide coverage of local Togolese sporting events as well 
as global events. Télé Sport broadcasts on Channel 29 that will start by 
covering the whole of the north of Lome but will eventually cover the 
whole region around the capital. It will employ a dozen people band its 
launch brings to six, the number of TV channels available to Togolese 
viewers. There are sixty radio stations, one of which is Sport FM.